Your ideal 36-40ft Transat/Circumnav Boat..

WestwardBound said:
For me it would be a Halburg Rassey or a Najad.
Centre cockpit works for me but I do appreciate that there are pros and cons.
The Baltic boats have very good shelter and the above are well thought out for cruising so popular for this purpose.
I'd also consider a 42 or 43 which can still be managed short-handed but sub-40 would be OK for a couple.
Click to expand...

I agree. However if the Halburg Rassey and Najad are out of your price bracket then I would recommend saving at least 50% of the price by buying a Moody (eg M425).

I have sailed two Moody centre cockpit boats and have still felt inside rather than on top which others find. The aft cabin is far superior on a entre cockpit boat than an aft cockpit and the engine seems far more accessible for repair and maintenance. I do prefer the "feel" of a tiller which unfortunately is hardly practical in a CC but there is now excellent self steering available for wheel - better if by means of a ram on the steering quadrant.
In-mast furling can be useful. Cutter rig gives added flexibility of sail setting; ketch rig gives even more flexibility.
 
Last edited:
I would go quite traditional hull so medium to heavy displacement, longish keel, plenty of water tankage and stowage, including for a decent sized dinghy. Rig would be a bit more up to date - with modern materials and sail handling aids , small, low aspect sails seem pointless. I would want cutter/ slutter headed ketch, decent sail area
 
Something hefty and low tech. Perhaps a Bruce Roberts that was a bit rusty looking and said penniless boat tramp rather than shiny and new that looks like you are begging to be rolled over if you are planning on sailing past Somalia. With a watermaker that doesn't involve a computer, a Blake's bog and a bit of a workshop area with a decent vice.
 
If money is no object then an Amel Maramu/Super Maramu, -- can all these French be wrong?

If budget is a little tighter then one of these French Ali jobs -- can Jimmy Cornell be wrong.

If budget is really tight then one of these hard chine starved horse steel French boats -- you know the ones you see all over the world, living on rice beans and fish and recycling cast off cruise ship mooring hawsers as halyards a la Moitessier.
 
BruceDanforth said:
Something hefty and low tech. Perhaps a Bruce Roberts that was a bit rusty looking and said penniless boat tramp rather than shiny and new that looks like you are begging to be rolled over if you are planning on sailing past Somalia. With a watermaker that doesn't involve a computer, a Blake's bog and a bit of a workshop area with a decent vice.
Click to expand...

That's more my style too. Although I don't see the benefit of a bog that's limited to 1930s materials and have my own better ideas :)

Pete
 
RupertW said:
Lagoon 380 - from before 2004 when they added hard tops and made the seat one storey higher, so boom even higher, and had a decent kitchen/living room/chart table all upstairs with nearly 360 degree fully enclosed view.

Perfect for rolly anchorages and obviously won't roll downwind. Will easily average 9 knots once 60 degrees off wind - we managed to get 15 knots peak in a Lagoon 410 on an Atlantic crossing but the same crew got 18 knots peak on a 380. And will beat perfectly upright at 45 degrees to true at around 6 knots in 15 knots of breeze - meaning you can live and cook for days on end when beating in relative comfort. Finally, and to me this was the real selling point, they feel far bigger and safer in very big waves and wind (ok, only in my experience up to 50 knot gust and 40 knot constant) than any monohull and are far less likely to be flipped by a wave on the side than a monohull.

Oh and shoal draft too meaning you can anchor close up to those nice white beaches with lots of cabin, storage and heads space. The only reason I don't own a cat now is that my next few years will be in the Med where width, marina costs and harbour wall space matter in a way they wouldn't much doing blue water and Caribbean sailing.
Click to expand...

I think if you look at the polar diagrams for the Lagoon 380 you will see that these performance figures are simply not true
 
Someone mentioned a Bowman 40. Difficult to think of a better choice and they always seems to be a fully sorted one somewhere for economic recycling and ready to go.
One with no teak deck, a cutter rig and a new engine. Perfect.
 
doris said:
Someone mentioned a Bowman 40. Difficult to think of a better choice and they always seems to be a fully sorted one somewhere for economic recycling and ready to go.
One with no teak deck, a cutter rig and a new engine. Perfect.
Click to expand...

As I have 5-10 years to go before making this choice my only concern is that some of these will be 30 years old. My current boat is 21 and is fine, but surely a 30 year old boat is going to be a lot of work? Or maybe these hulls will last forever and engine, rigging, upholstery etc will have all been replaced? Hmmm.
 
HR, Najad and the like are designed for N. Europe and cold waters. Most circumnavigations spend a lot of time in warm waters. The French boats tend to be designed more for warm waters (wrt ventilation, cockpit space, cabin arrangement etc. )

Is this a factor in deciding?

MD
 
roblpm said:
As I have 5-10 years to go before making this choice my only concern is that some of these will be 30 years old. My current boat is 21 and is fine, but surely a 30 year old boat is going to be a lot of work? Or maybe these hulls will last forever and engine, rigging, upholstery etc will have all been replaced? Hmmm.
Click to expand...

Ah, in that case a ten year old RM 1260 will be perfect.
Get out there and encourage plenty of buyers of new ones now for your later recycling.
 
Seven Spades said:
I think the main reason for not using a cat is the motion. How many cats capsize over the course of a year? One was lost recently off South Africa but I can't remember the last one to go missing. I think you can balance the risk of flipping a cat with running aground on a reef and I think that more monohulls sink on reefs each year than cats flipping.
Click to expand...

One got flipped in the Minch a year or so back....

I am coming to regret selling my First 38.....
 
If I didn't have what I've got and I was looking to buy a boat to go long-term cruiding on, it would be a Moody 54 or for less money a Bavaira Ocean 47.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top